Pass rate
83.8%
Around average — 10.7 pts ahead of the 73.1% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 99 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £60–£180
2008 Toyota MR2 MOT pass rate
- 2008
- typical 93,946 mi
Only 99 tests of this exact model and year are in the DVSA data, below the 100 we ask for before a page goes in the index. The figures are still shown, because they are the only ones there are.
Most common fault
Suspension
21.2% of faults · 21.0% nationally
mostly worn arm bushes, split ball-joint boots and broken coil springs.
Which year to buy
- Best 2008 83.8% pass · this year
- Avoid 2000 73.4% pass
Across the 9 years on record, a spread of 10.4 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 82.2%
- Typical mileage
- 94k mi
The 2008 Toyota MR2 MOT pass rate is 83.8% of its MOT tests — 10.7 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. Suspension is the biggest single reason it fails, at 21.2% of what testers record.
Check your postcode
MOT pass rates are national — type your postcode to see how Toyota MR2 does in your corner of the country.
Expert verdict
Emissions & leaks: 3.4× the national share
Emissions & leaks make up 18.6% of everything recorded on the 2008 Toyota Mr2, against 5.5% nationally — 13.1 points above. Suspension is still the single largest share at 21.2%, but at 21.0% nationally that one is ordinary. A smoky diesel or a leaking joint fails on emissions more often than on wear, so ask for a recent emissions printout.
- Beats its own age and mileage. Once you allow for how old and how far these cars have been driven, the expected pass rate is 73.1% and this one manages 83.8% — 10.7 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict.
- When it fails, it costs. Only 21% of this model’s typical repairs come in under £30 in parts — the failures here tend to be the kind that need a garage rather than a bulb.
Written from this page's own figures: fault shares against the national composition, the like-for-like pass rate, and the priced repair list. How these are worked out
Watching a Toyota MR2? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2008 Toyota MR2 compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 73.1%, so this figure is 10.7 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 82.2%. The median 2008 Toyota MR2 in this dataset had covered 93,946 mi.
Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 81.6% of the time, April–September 85.2%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Catalyst emissions Lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits", noted on 3.03% of tests.
- 99 recorded tests behind this page.
- 83.8% overall pass rate, 82.2% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Toyota MR2, the average is 75.9% — best year 2008 (83.8%), worst 2000 (73.4%).
Figures count every completed test on this vehicle-year in the dataset, including retests. See methodology for the exact definition.
This page's data
- Tests analysed
- 99
- Typical mileage (median)
- 93,946 mi
- Make and model
- Toyota MR2
- Updated
- 2026-11-05
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.
Top part to budget for
Emissions Repair
Typically a garage job — get quotes before committing.
Does mileage affect the MR2 MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 71% so small gaps stay visible.
Regional pass rates for the MR2
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South West | 20 | 70.0% |
| West Midlands | 17 | 88.2% |
| East of England | 16 | 87.5% |
Regions come from the postcode area recorded at the test station. Areas on region borders are assigned to the region with the majority of their population.
What fails a 2008 MR2
Everything a tester recorded on this vehicle, grouped into the inspection sections that produced it. The notch on each bar is the national share, so you can see at a glance whether this car is unusual or just ordinary.
A test can record several items, so these percentages do not add up to 100%. The exact strings, with prices, are in the full DVSA record at the bottom of this page.
Before your test
Three checks worth doing on a 2008 MR2
These are not generic tips — they are the faults recorded most often on this exact model, rewritten as things you can check yourself. All three take about ten minutes and cost nothing.
-
Check the exhaust and emissions 3.0% of tests
“catalyst emissions Lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits”
Listen for a blow at idle and have someone rev it gently. Then look at the tailpipe smoke: blue is oil, white when warm is coolant, black is over-fuelling. Any of those and the emissions test is the least of it.
-
Check corrosion 3.0% of tests
“component mounting prescribed areas prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength”
Look under the sills, around the jacking points and where the suspension mounts meet the body. Flaking, holed or crumbly metal fails; a brown stain on sound metal does not.
-
Check the lights 3.0% of tests
“headlamp aim too low”
Switch everything on and walk round the car: both headlamps on dip and main, every indicator, both brake lights, reverse, fog and the two number-plate lamps. A bulb is a few pounds and a five-minute job.
Shares are the proportion of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item, so they overlap: one test can record several.
What it costs to get a 2008 MR2 through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £60–£180 — and 21% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £60–£180
- Cheapest common item: registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the…
- £5–£20
- Dearest common item: component mounting prescribed areas…
- £180–£450
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 40%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 21%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 99 MOT tests on this vehicle. They exclude diagnostics, retest fees and garage labour where the part is a DIY fit, and they are not figures from the DVSA dataset. Older and higher-mileage examples cost more than the average. How these estimates are built → · All MOT repair costs → · Cheapest cars to put through a test →
Every year of the MR2, side by side
9 model years on record, from 2000 to 2008. Across them the pass rate runs from 73.4% to 83.8% — a spread of 10.4 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2000 73.4% rbt (sp) efficiency below…
- 2001 74.2% rbt (sp) efficiency below…
- 2002 74.2% rbt (sp) efficiency below…
- 2003 76.4% rbt (sp) efficiency below…
- 2004 76.4% rbt (sp) efficiency below…
- 2005 77.8% rbt (sp) efficiency below…
- 2006 79.2% rbt (sp) efficiency below…
- 2007 76.7% catalyst emissions lambda reading…
- 2008 83.8%catalyst emissions lambda reading…
Colour is the pass rate on a fixed scale, so a block means the same thing on any model. Each year links to its own page with the full fault breakdown.
Compare the 2008 Toyota MR2 with another year
The raw pass rate mostly measures age. The year comparison adds the like-for-like figure, the mileage bands and the repair bill.
Other 2008 cars with a similar record
- Porsche Cayenne 83.4%
- Lexus IS250 83.3%
- Porsche Cayman 84.8%
- Lexus RX400H 82.4%
- BMW 530 82.4%
- Jaguar Xk 82.0%
Closest pass rates among 2008 cars with at least 2,000 tests, so a small sample cannot flatter itself into the list. See the full rankings: best and worst MOT pass rates.
The full DVSA record for the 2008 Toyota MR2 10 failure items · 6 advisories · 10 inspection categories · mileage brackets · all of it in the page, none of it above the fold
Every inspection category
Shares of the 156 individual items recorded on this vehicle, and the same share across all cars nationally. A single test can record several items, so a row is not a percentage of tests.
| Category | Items | This car | Nationally | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Suspension | 33 | 21.20% | 20.98% | +0.22 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 29 | 18.60% | 5.52% | +13.08 |
| Brakes | 27 | 17.30% | 20.89% | −3.59 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 25 | 16.00% | 12.21% | +3.79 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 19 | 12.20% | 5.57% | +6.63 |
| Tyres | 9 | 5.80% | 19.76% | −13.96 |
| Steering | 6 | 3.80% | 2.57% | +1.23 |
| Visibility | 5 | 3.20% | 4.97% | −1.77 |
| Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | 2 | 1.30% | 0.82% | +0.48 |
| Non-component advisories | 1 | 0.60% | 4.18% | −3.58 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Catalyst emissions Lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 3.0% | £60–250 |
| Catalyst emissions carbon monoxide content after 2nd fast idle exceeds default limits Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 3.0% | £60–250 |
| Component mounting prescribed areas prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength Suspension | Major | 3.0% | £180–450 |
| Headlamp aim too low Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 3.0% | £30–80 |
| Headlamp lens slightly defective Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 3.0% | £5–25 |
| Rbt (sp) efficiency below requirements Brakes | Major | 3.0% | £45–110 |
| Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 3.0% | £5–20 |
| Steering rack gaiter missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt Steering | Major | 3.0% | £120–300 |
| Ball joint excessively worn Suspension | Major | 2.0% | £18–45 |
| Catalyst emissions carbon monoxide content at idle exceeds default limits Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 2.0% | £60–250 |
Severity is as recorded: Major and Dangerous fail the test outright; Minor and Advisory do not. Costs are estimates from typical UK parts prices — see how they are built.
What testers noted without failing the car
Advisories are the early warnings — the same parts a year or two before they fail. Reading them is how you tell a car that has been maintained from one that has been patched.
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Engine oil leaks leaking excessively from engine Noise, emissions and leaks | Advisory | 11.1% | £200–700 |
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 7.1% | £40–150 |
| Exhaust system has a major leak of exhaust gases Body, chassis, structure | Advisory | 5.0% | £45–120 |
| Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick Brakes | Advisory | 4.0% | £18–45 |
| Chassis condition corroded to the extent that the rigidity of the assembly is significantly reduced Body, chassis, structure | Advisory | 4.0% | £180–450 |
| Flexible brake hoses ferrule excessively corroded Brakes | Advisory | 4.0% | £25–70 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 3 | 100.0% | 9,255 mi |
| 30-60k | 5 | 100.0% | 41,560 mi |
| 60-90k | 31 | 87.1% | 73,532 mi |
| 90-120k | 29 | 79.3% | 101,537 mi |
| 120k+ | 30 | 80.0% | 143,684 mi |
Source: 99 recorded tests on this vehicle-year. Every row above is recomputed from the same DVSA extract as the rest of the page — see the methodology.
2008 MR2 MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2008 Toyota MR2?
83.8% of the 99 2008 Toyota MR2 tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 73.1% for cars first used in 2008. First-attempt pass rate: 82.2%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2008 Toyota MR2?
The three most recorded items are catalyst emissions lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits (3.03%), catalyst emissions carbon monoxide content after 2nd fast idle exceeds default limits (3.03%), component mounting prescribed areas prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength (3.03%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2008 Toyota MR2 MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 100.0% of the time, falling to 80.0% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2008 Toyota MR2 in this dataset had covered 93,946 mi.
Does the season affect the 2008 Toyota MR2 MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 81.6% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 85.2%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.